Oh, the Torment
by duckie lover 151
Summary: Basically Yuki's story of before Shigure took him in. Of being abused by Akito. Told by Hastuharu. Completed!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Honestly, Hastuharu! What is the matter with you? All he did was ask one simple question! You beat him nearly to death!"

No lady, it was in no way a simple question. Trust me, I know the definition of simple. I may be a little slow, but I know the definition of simple. That was in no way a simple question.

How was I supposed to explain to the kid that the reason my cousin isn't in school again is because Akito wasn't in a good mood last night and lost it again? No way in hell was that a simple question.

Sure I hadn't meant to hurt him so badly, but he wasn't beaten nearly to _death_. That is such an exaggeration. Trust me, I've been with Yuki enough times after Akito's lost his temper to know what it looks like when someone's been beaten nearly to _death_.

But thinking about what state Yuki would be in right now wasn't something I wanted to think about at the moment. My hands clenched into fists on my thighs from where I saw at my desk and I grit my teeth. Though whether it was to fend off the tears or avoid blowing up at my teacher, I wasn't totally sure. It wasn't that I had _no _remorse for that thoughtless kid. Even though I was mad, I hadn't meant to snap like I did. But I wasn't sure how much more I could be subjected to listen to before snapping again.

"That poor child!" my teacher ranted on. "He never deserved anything of the sort! Young man, you had better plan on a good long letter of apology!"

Oh, that _poor kid._ If she honestly thought _he_ had it bad then this world really was screwed up.

But, sure enough, I would be forced to apologize. Even though I hadn't really been aware of the consequences of what I'd been doing at the time, I would have to show some regret for hurting what would be considered a defenseless victim.

I, Hastuharu Sohma, had truthfully done enough in my thirteen years of existence to be considered a juvenile delinquent. In fact, it was probably nothing more than the power of the prestigious Sohma family that kept me out of juvi hall.

I continued to stare blankly ahead. I barely registered what she was saying as my sensei continued spewing out her speech of hatred.

Lady, you have no idea what goes on in this world if you think _he_ has it bad. _He's_ lucky. Why don't you take a look into Yuki's background? Look in your thick, stupid folder of all the Sohmas. You'll find out his age, birth date, and who his parents are. But you aren't going to find out the most important thing. You aren't going to find what's sabotaging his _whole freaking life_ in there.

Go ahead, dig deep into the world of Yuki Sohma.

With Akito's resources, you'll never find anything. By those standards, he might as well have never existed at all...


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

I headed out of the classroom as my teacher finally finished telling me off. Despite the crappy mood I was in, my heart leapt a little when I saw that Rin was leaning against the wall, waiting for me. But her expression was grim.

"Wow, she must've gone off at you for a long time. Your mom's already here."

Oh, joy. My mother has gotten called here many times because of my 'behavior issues' as they're called in this school. Let's just say, she could care less what I've done. It matters more to her that she looks 'presentable' to be around other human beings.

Around other human beings. That's how she described it to me. I asked her why she didn't look like that at home. Since it was just the two of us she told me I don't count. I don't think she meant it the way I took it. I was thinking of the whole zodiac thing. I don't think she was. Or, I like to think that she wasn't.

Anyway, I snapped. Again without meaning to. I don't _usually_ mean to of course, but let's just say there are some times when I let my temper slip. 'Accidentally' of course. In my mind there are just certain people who deserve to feel my wrath. Like the kid today. The one I was forced to stay after school for, though I must say that I got just a little carried away...

That one time I snapped over the whole 'human being' thing, I'd never seen my mom look so scared. Of me. It was a horrible feeling, but I'd completely lost it at that time. There had been no sudden going back to calm for me that day. It was after that that my mother put me into karate. Don't get me wrong. Kazuma's great, and that's where I became friends with Yuki, Kagura, and Kyo, but it just didn't help.

Sure I'd needed to vent. But not physically. I'd needed to vent emotionally, which I'm forever grateful to Yuki for allowing me to do so.

I'd finally reached the main office. My mom was in there talking to the secretary. I knew they were talking about me because they shut up as soon as I entered. My mother looked great of course, but it really didn't matter. Not to me at least, and I'm the one who'd have to live with her for quite a while considering I'm only thirteen.

She said goodbye to the lady behind the counter who gave me a look of absolute hatred. She despised me, I knew that much. But usually it was just disappointment. For a second I had to wonder, what exactly made this kid so special? Oh yeah, the kid I'd landed in the hospital had been her nephew or something. For all I knew he could've been her grandson. Oh well. Too bad for her I guess.

My mom did say anything until we were outside. "Where is that man?" she snapped irritably. She must mean Hatori. There was no way she would've walked here. He must've driven her.

We waited for a few seconds. Her phone rang. It was Hatori. I couldn't hear the exact conversation, but I got the point. Something had happened and he couldn't come pick us up. She called him something I'm not allowed to describe anybody as but do anyway.

Big deal. I walk home everyday. It's not like it's gonna kill you. But I bet my mom thought it might from the look she was giving the ground.

She decided to start our conversation once we started walking. "Hatsuharu, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but not thinking isn't really possible," I spat at the ground. My mother was less than impressed with my answer. "That poor kid."

Ugh. There was the sentence again. "I don't get it," I muttered bitterly "Why does everyone think _that_ kid has it so hard?"

My mother's face paled. She knew almost instantly what I was getting at. "Haru," she said through almost clenched teeth. "This boy and your cousin are in completely different situations. That kid has nothing to do with him."

"It has _everything_ to do with him! Why do you think I lost it today!?" My mom has a major talent for being able to get on my nerves just about every time we try to hold a conversation. Even more, I hated how she never said Yuki's name. It was always 'your cousin' or 'that Rat'. It was like he was some kind of disobedient animal! No pun intended.

To most of the Sohma family, my mom included, Yuki had gone from being the Rat, the special one, to nothing more than Akito's stress ball. And believe me, Yuki could feel his _stress_. Anger, disappointment, just about anything that wasn't happiness. But when it came to pain, no Akito felt none of that. Yuki felt it for him.

"Akito can do what he pleases with the Zodiac members. He is the head of the Sohma family. There isn't much anyone can do."

I gritted my teeth. I hated Akito. But there was worry under all that hatred. My mother was obviously scared of Akito. She obviously wasn't going to do anything to help Yuki. And Yuki's mom obviously didn't care. But would my mom do anything if it weren't Yuki? I bit my lip. Would she act this way if it were _me_ Akito decided to make his punching bag? I'll be the first to admit that I was scared to find out that answer.

We finally arrived at the Sohma main gates. I was still ticked as we entered. Right inside were a lot of people, Sohmas obviously, but these people were always different to me. It was because we were inside. These people weren't staring at me because of my hair color or attitude problems. These people knew my secret. Or, _our_ secret I guess. I didn't like most of these people very much.

My mother smiled broadly at them all. Like she was putting on a show. Like no one knew that she'd had to come get me from school 'cause I was in trouble again.

And worse. Akito happened to be in this crowd. He had a smug smile on his face and I was sure he was about to make another damn joke about my brainpower. I'm honestly not that far behind everyone else! The worst thing anyone ever did in this fucking hellhole was letting Akito know that he was in charge. That he was special. Remind me to strangle whoever told him that.

It seemed to be a small crowd surrounding us. They were trying to look like they were busy, but they were all waiting for a scene. And everyone here knew it was bound to happen eventually. Akito liked making a fool out of me. But he loved doing it in front of other people.

"So," he started.

I glared at him and his smile vanished. I was dangerously close to snapping again. There are people out there (most of them actually) who think the whole problem with my 'black side' is a mental thing. But it's not, it's emotional, and I'd had it today.

"Why don't you just go drop dead, you old hag?!"

Maybe it was a pretty lame threat because 'hag' usually refers to a woman, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

It sounded like every adult there sucked in their breath. They, Akito included, were all looking at me like I knew something I shouldn't. Which was strange because I'm usually getting looked at like there's something I should know but don't. I didn't wait for a response; I strode past our startled head of the family.

"Hatsuharu!" my mother yelled, "In front of all these people... how could you!?" my mother was so pissed, it wasn't possible for her to complete a sentence at the moment.

Unbelievable, my cousin gets tormented for no reason just about every night, and my mom was more upset about me raising my voice in public.

What the hell was wrong with everyone in this world?

**Read and Review Please! Yuki should get introduced in the next chapter. It never says much about Haru's mom, but this is my best way of trying to describe her through this chapter. (Personally, I think I got the message across.) I don't own Fruits Basket!**


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

**The crowd didn't exactly make part for me, but I managed to get through. Most of them were wearing stunned looks similar to my mother's and Akito's. Some of them gave me angry or disapproving glances as I pushed my way through.**

**As I was entering the main house, Hatori burst out and ran over to Akito. I knew this drill. Hatori was going to try and stop the anger before it appeared. At the moment Akito was too shocked to react. But it wouldn't be pretty when he did. As I walked inside some of the adults turned to their friends to whisper, no doubt about me and just disrespectful children in general.**

**I ignored them and pushed my way into the building. When you're a Sohma there are just certain things you need to learn to ignore. I knew the inside very well. I'd grown up here. I headed down a dark passageway towards Yuki's room. **

**Rin wasn't with me this time. She usually comes and sits in the corner. As hard as I've tried, she never interacts with Yuki. I've tried telling her that as much as I used to hate him, Yuki isn't a bad guy, and that since the only visitor he gets besides us is Akito, he should really talk to us when he comes. But so far there's been no change. She just sits in the corner and stares out into the hallway. Staring off into space would be my guess.**

**Oh, well. Yuki never seems to mind. And just the fact that she's there at all makes me happy. **

**I didn't bother knocking. Yuki was probably expecting me. I'm sure he'd heard the commotion and had been watching out his window. Yuki smiled at me when I entered. I closed the door behind me and smiled back. **

**I knew Akito had thrown another fit last night, but wow. Yuki looked worse than I'd thought. He was pale, but he was always pale so I wasn't too worried. It looked as if he hadn't gotten too much sleep last night and he didn't want to risk falling asleep now. Just in case Hatori couldn't calm Akito down. No one wants to wake up to an enraged Akito.**

**There was a nasty purple bruise on his left cheek and a bluish one on the right side of his jaw. There was a cut fearfully close to his right eye, but I guess it could've been worse. He could've ended up half blind like Hatori. The kimono he was wearing had long sleeves, but Yuki's fingernails on both hands were cut up and scabbed over. I wouldn't have been surprised if he was dragged across the floor last night.**

**A bandage had been placed on his collarbone so I couldn't see how bad the cut was, but there was bluish purple bruising around that too. Yuki looked like he belonged unconscious in a hospital bed, except for the fact that he was sitting up smiling at me.**

**My smile grew just a bit wider as it sunk in that Akito hadn't finished him off yet. I ran over and plopped myself down next to him on the floor. I then began to tell him all about my day. Maybe it was just to avoid thinking about his own, but Yuki loved listening and talking about my problems. I told him about my crappy school day. I told him about the fight, but I didn't tell him why it was started. He didn't need to know that.**

**Yuki frowned, but nodded. He was used to me fighting. He knew all about my temper problems, though I'd only lost it with him that one time when I hadn't even really known him. I couldn't help being a bit sad though**

**It seemed unfair that Yuki was fixing my mood when he was the one that really needed cheering up.**

**Yuki's P.O.V.**

I love having Haru over. I see how his face lights up whenever he sees me. I'm not sure what my expression says, but I feel the exact same way, if not ten times better.

As bad as it is that my cousin is constantly getting into trouble, it's nice listening to a nice normal school day. I'm sure Haru gets stared at too, he's told me so. But not for the same reason I get stared at. Well, there are some similarities, I guess.

We get stared at for the way we look. But Haru gets stared at for something he can't help. And I'm sure there are some people who think his black and white hair is really cool.

I on the other hand get stared at because just about every other week I've got a new bruise. No one ever questions it, not even my teachers. I'm pretty sure none of them have ever met personally with Akito, if they had I think they might understand. But some of the elder maids have come and met with them. Sure, some of the smaller bruises and scrapes can be blamed on the fact that I'm not all that graceful, but the maids over exaggerated a lot.

Because of the way we act. Haru definitely stands out. Sure it's hard to become close to him because of his unpredictable attitude, but he's a great friend once you get past that. Very loyal, and just a bit protective, but maybe that's just with Rin and me.

At my school I'm the freak. The one with no friends who can't interact with others. The one who always has their head down. It would be a complete lie to say I don't get bullied, but it's not an everyday thing like it is with some of the kids classified as the nerds. But lets face it, it's only because I'm an easy target. I don't fight back, and I'm known to cower under too much pressure.

Even with all my... injuries there are few girls who seem to swoon over me for some odd reason. I can't say I haven't noticed. Though I have no idea why. There's absolutely nothing whatsoever special or even interesting about me beside the imperfections that Akito's constantly punishing me for. And, trust me, those are nothing to swoon over.

I'm the freak because for three months I was known as the unresponsive, selective mute. I don't want to make excuses, but it wasn't' exactly my fault. I mean Akito was pretty bad normally after that one day that he cracked for no known reason, but there was a week that he'd been unbelievably horrible. It was so bad that I couldn't even feel my injuries. Hatori had done all he could, but there comes a point when the patient is beyond help.

It wasn't' really my choice to become mute, but I'd just lost my voice. Hatori calls it a form of shock. This happens sometimes after Akito gets really mad. I just can't speak. And trust me, it's worse than losing your voice because of a head cold. Every time I tried to speak was like a trigger for my worst memories.

I didn't mean to get classified as a mute either. Everything was so hazy those days. Everything seemed grey, not the suspected black. Most the times, when I just went on with that blank look on my face, I didn't even realize that anyone was talking to me. You can't expect me to respond when I didn't know anyone was acknowledging me. So, I became the selective mute.

There was one horrible time that officially classified me as the freak. One of the teachers was trying to talk to me and I actually noticed. Trying to speak triggers the memories, and I was really trying to answer. But I guess I'd shuddered one too many times becasue my teacher got a worried look on her face and put her hand on my shoulder. I didn't even realize what she was doing before she did it. When I did, I guess you could say I panicked. I put my hand over my ears, screwed my eyes shut, and crouched in the corner like I do sometimes with Akito.

Those times make everything worse. It seems like every sound gets sharpened and of course, you can't do that in school without being surrounded by a small crowd at least. I could just picture the freaked out look on my teacher and classmates faces when that happened. But the advantage to losing my voice at that time: I couldn't scream.

I can't describe to you how lucky it was that I met Hastuharu on one of my good days. Good day meaning that I could realize what was going on around me and I could respond to it. Sure he'd blown up at me, but I'd made a great friend and helped him in the process.

After becoming friends with Haru I slowly started to get a little better. Akito was baffled and my teachers seemed relieved. I shudder to think what would've happened if I hadn't realized that my cousin was there that day.

**Haru's P.O.V.**

I couldn't help noticing that Yuki flinched slightly as I crashed down next to him. But that was to be expected, wasn't it? We talked for a good long while.

Then we heard the unmistakable sound of an extremely pissed Akito crashing inside. Yuki stiffened visibly and I only had one thought when the door was thrust open, _Damn, we're so screwed._

The person standing in the doorway was angry, but you have no idea how relieved I was when I realized it wasn't Akito.

It was Rin.

She ran in and I only had time to say a brief goodbye over my shoulder to my stunned cousin as she yanked me through the doorway and down another hallway.

"Rin-"

"What the hell's wrong with you?!" she hissed. "Do you have any idea what could've happened?! Deciding to visit your cousin, now of all times!?" she snapped.

I understood the anger, sort of.

Had we been caught, I knew what could've happened to Yuki.

But Rin seemed worried for... me.

**Read and Review Please! How did I do? Was it okay?**

**I don't own Furuba! **


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

**Mrs. Kusaki's P.O.V**

Hatsuharu may have headed home, but his teacher stayed. She sighed as she watched him leave the premises with his mother. That boy sure is something.

Mrs. Kusaki knew that deep down Hatsuharu Sohma really wasn't a bad kid. But he was really difficult. Everyone had their bad days, but you could just never really tell with Haru.

He had been transferred to her homeroom after his previous homeroom teacher had had a nervous breakdown. Apparently Haru had snapped one too many times.

He had been moved to Mrs. Kusaki's class because they were sure she could handle them. It was true that Mrs. Kusaki had handled many troublesome children in the past and she'd expected Hatsuharu to just be disrespectful. That he liked to make others angry. She never understood these children. Did they like the feeling of power it most certainly brought them? It hadn't mattered. Back then she had been sure that she could straighten him out.

But Hatsuharu wasn't anything like she had expected. When Hatsuharu wasn't angry he had a wistful, almost serene smile. When she had first noticed this, Mrs. Kusaki was sure it was all an act. The child was trying to gain her trust. This would fuel a bigger reaction. Teachers were always harder on the kids who were always so well-behaved in class.

Mrs. Kusaki hadn't let up on him. She was sure he would soon get impatient and show his true nature. Mrs. Kusaki had admitted to herself that she had been wrong about him. She was sure that Hatsuharu had been a pure troublemaker. The class clown no doubt.

That first day when he had first walked into her room the students had looked at him, then looked at their friends, and then they had proceeded to snigger behind their hands. This had only refueled her suspicions.

That day, before she had had any chance to say anything to him, Haru had held up and his backpack and said, "Where do you want me to put this?" he wasn't exactly rude, just very blunt.

Hatsuharu had shown no sense of even a mild temper until a day about a month or so later. They had to do oral reports in front of their classmates. It wasn't the most pleasant thing and Mrs. Kusaki had never met a student who really enjoyed them, but it was part of the curriculum.

Haru had been known to be a little behind compared to the other students, but nothing drastic. But Mrs. Kusaki knew well that it was natural for these children to get teased. They were pegged as the stupid kids. Children, especially middle schoolers, could be downright ruthless. Mrs. Kusaki had assumed this was the reason for Hatsuharu's misbehavior. After all, it was hard to hate a good class clown. It was surely one way to end bullying.

Anyway, during his report, Haru had messed up a few times. One of the children in the front row, one known for picking on other children, had muttered something to him and Hatsuharu had snapped.

"What did you say to me?!" he'd roared, report forgotten.

The child had looked a little embarrassed that Haru hadn't ignored his comment, but he'd stood up to him and a fight had ensued.

The boy, Lyoku, had definitely come off worse. At the time, Mrs. Kusaki had been wondering, 'what was his mother thinking?' Enrolling him in karate had to be her worst decision ever!

Hatsuharu had been made to stand out in the hall for the rest of class and quite a few students had jabbed at him verbally on their way home.

As soon as she'd come out to lecture him, Haru's cousin had come rushing down the hallway. Yuki. He'd come to Haru's rescue more than once.

With Yuki there, the whole lecture had been more of a therapy session. It caused immense confusion for Mrs. Kusaki.

There was one time when it had been Mrs. Kusaki herself that Hatsuharu had blown up at. When the lecture had come Yuki had said something that had stuck with Mrs. Kusaki ever since. She had no doubt that his words would never leave her.

"Well, what did you do to make him so angry?"

Hatsuharu had looked rightfully ashamed and was staring down at his feet. Mrs. Kusaki had been shocked. What had _she _done? Yuki was blaming this on her?

Yuki had always seemed so mature in her eyes. There was something strange about him. There was no doubt about it. Haru was as strange as he was special. Special. There was no other word for it.

There was one quality that she had sofar seen in every Sohma she had meet. A defensive, protectiveness of each other. She didn't know why, but the Sohmas seemed to have a peculiar bond among all of them.

She had seen Yuki defending Haru almost as much as she'd seen Haru defending his older cousin. Or sometimes it was the other Sohma in their grade, Momiji, that he was defending. Momiji was definitely happy-go-lucky, but he'd defended Hatsuharu a few times in his own way. He'd stuck up for him when no one else had. Haru had Momiji, even if he had no other friend his age.

It wasn't only them. He'd heard of the other Sohmas in the higher grades. There were two girls a few grades ahead. Kagura and Isuzu. She'd heard of quite a few incidents where it had been Isuzu defending Hatsuharu from her fellow classmates. This had surprised her at first. But then, rumors don't spread by grade.

She'd heard that Kagura could have quite the temper as well, but she was normally bubbly and outgoing. She didn't have the trouble making friends that Her cousins did.

Now that she thought about it, all the Sohma's were somewhat weird. But her originally thoughts about Haru that afternoon stuck.

That boy sure is something.

**Kagura's P.O.V.**

I hesitated, about to turn the corner to Yuki's room. My mother had heard from one of the maids that Akito had thrown quite a fit. I'd immediately been worried for Yuki, then felt very guilty afterwards.

Does that make me a bad person? Feeling guilty for feeling bad for someone who desperately needed help?

Rin seems to think so. She and I aren't' really enemies, we've just never been the best of friends. That was never a problem until she started to live with us. It's not like I regret having my mother take her in. I'm glad, and I wish something similar would happen to Yuki.

But Rin is being very difficult. We're trying to help, but it's very hard to try and help someone who doesn't want anyone's help. Rin is incredibly stubborn.

I wished someone could help Yuki and I knew it would probably cheer him up to have some visitors, but I was having some loyalty issues.

I was too close to Kyo to be a good friend to Yuki. It wasn't like that was a huge secret or anything. I don't know how Haru manages to be on the good side of both of them.

It's not like I've never tried to help Yuki. Once on one of his really bad days I even went to the police! It's amazing how little they can help you if you're a Sohma.

Everyone rolls their eyes (or Shigure plays along) when Ayame goes around talking about the Sohmas being a royal family. But surprisingly we actually are. And to us, Akito is sort of like our king. Point blank, there's absolutely nothing the police can do.

I bit my lip and turned to leave. At that moment Rin came around the corner. She saw where I was and quickly assessed the situation.

Finally, she muttered under breath, "Must keep the Cat happy."

I don't know if I was supposed to hear that, but I did and boy was I steamed. I turned on her.

"Don't act like I don't know that you only visit Yuki to make Haru happy!" With that I turned and ran back home.

Maybe infuriating her further wasn't really helping the issue of us getting along, but who was she to judge me?!

After all, she was almost in the exact same position as me.

**This feels kinda like a filler chapter... But I thought it would be important to see how this is affecting everyone! I don't own Furuba! Review Please!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

**Yuki's P.O.V.**

Almost five seconds after Rin had pulled Haru around a corner and out of sight, a maid came to the doorway of my room.

I know this maid very well. Well, the important things about her anyway. I can't tell you her name. I can't tell you her birthday or her favorite color. I can't even tell you if she lives inside the Sohma walls or not. But I do know that she only checks up on me because Akito orders her to. And I can tell you that she doesn't like me. That's only the basics, but the basics are all you need to know to be me. The only thing you need to know for survival.

The maid is old. She's been here for quite a while. Before Akito was born I suspect. Her gray hair is always pulled back into a tight bun and her wrinkles are always creased into a frown. Well, they are every time she sees me anyway.

**Haru's P.O.V.**

After Rin got me around a corner she stormed off. That's just Rin. I think she must've run into somebody because I could hear talking, well arguing actually, but I couldn't really tell what they were saying.

Anyway, as soon as Rin left me I walked back around the corner. I probably would've sneaked back into Yuki's room if that damn old maid hadn't come and stood in his doorway.

She doesn't like Yuki. Yuki doesn't like her.

I have a special place in my heart for all the hatred I've stored up for that woman. Every time after Akito has a fit she'll go check up on Yuki.

What I hate most is that she always looks at Yuki like he's done something wrong. I wish that once I could just blow up at her. But I can't. If I explode I might let something slip. Then Yuki will be under constant surveillance and I won't be able to see him anymore.

And I can't afford to let that happen.

I feel horribly selfish about it. That woman talked to my mother about military schools once after I snapped once. I need Yuki.

Yuki keeps me calm. But if I think about it, I guess it really isn't that selfish because I keep Yuki happy. I suppose if you look at the big picture, we balance each other out.

**Yuki's P.O.V.**

The maid just looks at me with undisguised contempt for a moment. Then she snaps, "Why is this door open?" as if there's a law against opening your bedroom door.

I'm not one to loose my temper, especially after seeing firsthand the consequences. So I just reply, "It was getting stuffy in here and I was having trouble breathing."

She just pursed her lips. She can't argue with that. Hatori would have her neck. He may take Akito's orders as well, but he was very serious when it came to his patients.

**Hatori's P.O.V.**

Hatori, however, would never have found out unless he was told. He was sitting in his office, contemplating the scene outside just moments before.

It was interesting, he reflected, Akito was constantly patronizing Hastuharu on not being able to control himself, when in reality, Akito's temper and Haru's were very much the same.

Without so much as a knock of warning, Shigure flew past the previously closed door and into his friend's office.

Hatori sighed. Shigure didn't seem to notice his friend's lack of enthusiasm. He was happy, but Shigure wasn't on his current sugar-high. Hatori knew better than most that there were days when his friend was more childish than Momiji.

"Good afternoon, Ha'ri." said Shigure in his cheery voice.

"What do you want?" asked Hatori, faking irritation as he lit his cigarette.

"Well, I just thought you'd be inspecting Yuki by now."

"Yuki's already been given his special checkup. He's fine."

"On Akito's orders I'm sure."

"Well of course. After all, Akito wants to keep the boy _alive_."

Shigure said, "You're just like Akito's servant."

Hatori sighed and muttered, "Aren't we all..."

**Haru's P.O.V.**

Once the maid had left, looking none the happier, Hastuharu had planned to go back and talk to Yuki. But he'd heard their short conversation and had decided against it. Yuki was having trouble breathing again? He hadn't known that he hadn't been feeling well when they had been talking.

Oh, well. He was about to go find Rin when he saw Yuki bend down. He stopped to watch for a moment. Yuki was known for being able to sit still for hours at a time.

Yuki bent down to scratch at his leg. But he winced in pain as he did so. Haru winced to. He hadn't been able to notice his friend's leg before because they'd been hidden by his kimono. Yuki's leg was severely scratched. Haru winced as well. Then he darted away.

He wasn't feeling particularly unhappy because he'd seen Yuki's injuries hundreds of times before, when they'd been much, much worse, but he still couldn't help the flood of tears that rushed to his eyes.

**Rin's P.O.V.**

They were unaware of it, but Haru picked a hallway that made it so that the two of them just narrowly missed each other. Rin strode past Yuki's room. She didn't look in and she didn't look back, but Rin couldn't stop the train of thoughts that rushed to her head.

These thoughts didn't contain much of Yuki, mostly Haru. But then again, they had to contain some of Yuki because that's what Haru's life revolved around. Well... not his life, but his happiness.

Rin hated such petty feelings, but she had to admit to the bits of jealousness that leaked in now and then. She absolutely loathed that part of her mind. But she just couldn't understand Haru at times.

What had made him get so attached to such a broken, helpless boy?

One thing that she hated most was when people would look down on Haru for his simple way of thinking. Most of the time, all you had to do was look at the problem simply and you would have your answer. Why couldn't the world understand this?

Kudos to you Haru, you see the world more clearly than most.

**Read and Review Please! Okay, I know that this chapter is short too, but I'm pleased with the way it came out.**

**It's most likely that Kyo will not appear in this story, but he'll be mentioned with the bits that feature Kagura.**

**There will be some Kagura Rin bonding, but they don't end up getting along too well till later so in this story they'll have a bit of a... not even a hate/love relationship, but they won't be completely hating each other.**

**Shigure and Hatori won't have very big parts until near the end when Shigure rescues Yuki from the hellhole known as the Sohma house.**

**So... I'll update when I can and review please!**


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Shigure didn't go straight home after he left Hatori's office. Once he made sure that Akito was content in his room he headed toward Yuki's.

Yuki's door was open so he peeked in at the rat. Yuki had fallen asleep and it made the deep purple rings under his eyes more prominent. Yuki was still in the window seat that he loved so much. He liked to be able to see outside, just to know that there was something out there. Yuki had fallen asleep sitting up.

Shigure sighed. Even in sleep Yuki didn't look completely relaxed. There was no doubt in his mind that the boy would be plagued with nightmares soon enough.

As Shigure turned away to finally head home he was comforted by one thought. At least when Yuki woke up he'd be able to see the outside almost at once.

...

Shigure was half right. After he'd left Yuki's mind was filled with nightmares.

...

_He was in a very familiar place. Yuki was in a very dark room. There were no windows and the door was shut tight. It may have caused an immediate sense of claustrophobia, but having the door closed was almost a relief. It meant Akito could not get in._

_But it could not stop the slight visibility that he had. There were slits in the wall and he could see Akito's menacing figure towering over him a short distance away._

_Akito had a smirk on his face that ensured the fact that he was in control._

_The sneering insults began._

_And only a few seconds later... the screaming followed._

_..._

Hatori sat up with a start. He had fallen asleep over his paperwork. It wouldn't be the first time. He stayed perfectly still for a moment trying to detect what it was that had woken him. It was one of those moments where you barely dare to breath because you are unsure what is going on.

He exhaled at last once the screams picked up again.

He'd been expecting this. The nightmares were always worse right after a 'punishment session' with Akito.

Yuki always slept horribly immediately afterwards if he slept at all. Hatori felt bad. He wasn't sure why. He had no reason to. It wasn't his fault after all.

Besides, when Yuki got like this there was absolutely nothing anyone could do. There was no use in sprinting down to Yuki's room.

He settled in for a long night and wondered when the kid would finally wake up.

...

"Let me go!"

Haru was struggling against Rin who was holding him back as forcefully as she could without hurting him.

It was a rather entertaining sight. Or at least it would be if it weren't in such a somber situation. They were both struggling against each other, but at the same time trying not to hurt each other.

"He needs me!"

"You can't get caught!" Rin hissed. "And would you keep your voice down?!"

"No! Let me go Rin!"

Rin was getting extremely irritated. Why couldn't Haru see how much danger he'd put himself in if he got caught. Rin wasn't about to take the risk of that.

She herself had nightmare about what Haru would do someday. Haru had too good of a heart sometime. She wasn't about to let Haru figure out a way to get himself into Yuki's position just to free that damn rat!

She put her hand over his mouth to stop him from saying anything else.

...

I honestly considered biting her for a minute there. It's good thing that sometime I have control over my temper...

...

Shigure was half wrong too. Yuki couldn't see the outside world when he finally woke up. It was pitch dark outside and it brought on a whole new level of panic.

It took almost a full thirty minutes to completely calm himself down. It was a little past midnight. Of course it was dark out he told himself silently.

Then he groaned. Also silently because he was having problems finding his voice. It was only a little past midnight. Would this night ever end?

With a shudder he realized that that nightmare he'd just had represented his life in so many ways. When would it all end?

...

Haru had seen enough. He knew that look.

_No..._ he thought. The panic was catching up with him as well. _Please Yuki..._ he pleaded in his mind. _Don't do anything stupid, please!_

Haru raced through the dark hallways glad that he'd gotten away from Rin for one crisis at least.

Haru didn't stop running when he got outside. He increased his pace to a sprint until he found the forest pathway that would soon become extremely familiar to him. He began pounding on the door.

"SHIGURE!!!!!!!!! OPEN UP!!!!!!!"

The sleep-deprived mutt opened the door, reluctant to see what Haru wanted yet eager to shut him up.

"What?" Shigure's irritation subsided when he found the younger boy was almost in tears.

"You have to save him! Please! You're the only one Akito will listen to!" Haru wiped at his eyes getting his fierce look back.

Shigure looked down at him and sighed. He knew this would happen eventually. "Look Haru, there isn't anything I can do..."

"Please Shigure. Yuki's thinking about suicide. He wasn't really planning on it when we talked about it." _Mostly because I pleaded with him to know end. _"But now I think he's serious." _Don't let him do this... I don't know what I'd do without Yuki... _

Shigure tried to keep the surprise off his face. He knew Akito could be... harsh. But, the kid was really thinking about killing himself?

Shigure got a slight smile. "Only if you call me sensei." he said teasingly.

Haru nodded, taking it seriously. "Let's go, Sensei."

They set off for the main house. Once finally there, they went their separate ways. Haru hurried to Yuki's room and Shigure went to go wake Akito. But there was no need. Akito came storming out. "Has that damn brat shut up yet?"

Even to Shigure this was a fairly obvious question because Yuki's screams were no longer filling the household. Instead of commenting on that he said, "Actually I came to speak with you about that."

Akito eyed him. Shigure was an idiot, but they'd always been close. Shigure had always been the most loyal. "Why?"

Sweat began to bead on the back of his neck. So he took a wild guess at persuasion, hoping Akito wouldn't see right through him. "Uh, well... Now that Yuki's in high school... it's a longer drive for the maids to bring him and everyone's so busy as it is-"

"Except for you, right Shigure? Shirking off on your responsibilities as much as ever I'm sure." Akito interrupted.

"So, don't you think it would make more sense for Yuki to come live with me?"

There was a tense silence for a moment. Then Akito smirked, "Yuki's going to start walking to school starting on Monday morning."

Hatori stepped out of the shadows, fully dressed even though it was now nearing two AM and he was sure to try to catch some more sleep. Or maybe he'd try to finish his paperwork until his alarm went off. It would certainly be something Hatori would do. "Precisely why he should go." spoke up the dragon. "Yuki's in no condition to be walking to school especially with Winter approaching. And you're in no condition to be woken up every night by his nightmares. You need your rest."

Akito hesitated, but Hatori is a hard person to argue with. "Fine." he said finally. A bit sulkily. He strode back to his room, grumbling under his breath, but the exhaustion was beginning to overtake him. Akito was asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed.

Once they were sure Akito was really asleep Hatori turned to his childhood friend and hissed, "Yuki's really going to be counting on you so you'd better not screw this up as you're so likely to do."

...

Haru hurried down to Yuki's room. As soon as he threw the door open he took in the scene. The tip of a knife was showing after it had been hastily chucked under Yuki's bed. There was a cut that was beginning to bleed on Yuki's wrist, but it wasn't deep and would fade soon enough.

Haru ignored these things and looked jubilantly at his friend. "Pack up your things! You're going to go live with Shigure!"

Yuki stared up at his friend in confusion. His nightmare must have switched over to one of his rare, pleasant dreams... He started to pack anyway, trying to enjoy the dream while it lasted...

_Epilogue_

Life is a bit better now. Most of the time. There are days when I still have to live with the panic, but the nightmares are slowly recurring less and less, and Shigure was surprisingly patient.

Haru visits as often as he can. He's over now actually. There are some times when, out of nowhere, Haru and I will get into these really deep, meaningful conversations. The rest of the time we're usually talking about any random crap we can think of.

He spoke up, "You get to live in Sensei's home. That's good isn't it?"

I looked at him in confusion just as I had the day he'd informed me that I'd be coming to live with Shigure. Of course it was good. Sometimes I was afraid that any minute now I'd wake up. "Haru, did you always refer to Shigure as 'Sensei'?" I can't remember him doing it before now...

"Yeah. Sensei is a Sensei after all." Sometimes Haru makes absolutely no sense. But I don't mind... Not as long as things stay the way they are...

...

While Haru was over Shigure had left to go have yet another meeting with the dragon. "So, how's Yuki?"

Shigure shrugged. "Okay I guess. There are days when he acts like if he does one little thing wrong he'll be sent back, though."

Hatori sighed. This news was sad but expected. But he knew Yuki better than anyone except Hatsuharu. And there was one thing he was positive of.

Yuki would be okay.

**I decided to put the Epilogue in with the last chapter because it was so short. Sadly, yes, it's over. There were some scenes that I pulled straight from the books. **

**I'd like to thank PocketxFullxOfxDreams, crazyandproud334, Tuliharja, mousecat, ILuvHikaruAndKaoru, .hugs, Bridgettalladega, and Teglan for reviewing!! I'd also like to thank anyone who will review in the future! Thanks for your support guys!**

**For the last time in this story... I don't own Fruits Basket! **


End file.
